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'Stupid mistakes': Root dismay over another England incident
Rory Dollard • August 26th, 2026 8:22 am
Brydon Carse | Photo: AP
He was subsequently cut by England for Thursday's match at Lord's, with an investigation under way by the independent Cricket Regulator.
But for the England and Wales Cricket Board, and Root, it was another familiar, if still staggering, setback.
Stokes' shock international retirement came after he and Gus Atkinson were stood down for a Test after breaching contractual obligations on a late night out in London at the start of the summer.
Before that, a boozy beach break in Noosa on the Ashes tour was widely pilloried as symptomatic of a dismal campaign and white-ball captain Harry Brook was punched by a bouncer in Wellington last October while drinking the night before a one-day international against New Zealand.
Reacting to the latest disciplinary flare-up, which broke just days after Root announced the abolition of a midnight curfew, Root said: "If I'm being brutally honest I'm really hacked off.
Joe Root | Photo: AP
"I'm really disappointed that, after last week's performance (winning by an innings at Headingley), we're sat here and we're talking about something that is not related to it at all.
"I've spoken to Brydon and when I first found out my first concern was him as a person. I don't think I'm speaking out of turn in saying he's very upset, very apologetic and understands his actions. I'm sure when he gets his chance, he will say that himself.
"But it's not the isolated incident itself, it's the fact we continuously keep making stupid mistakes away from the game and it's detracting from what we are doing on the field."
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As for the wider reputational damage sustained over several months, Root admitted he had a battle to win back hearts and minds.
"It's not going to happen overnight, but in many ways we are going to have to earn a lot of trust back," he said. "It's something we are going to have to live and breathe, consistently.
"I might only be in this dressing room for a couple more years, maybe a bit longer than that, but there's a group of players that are going to be around for the next 10 years, and they can live and breathe something and achieve something over that period of time. This is where that can start."
